


Rainbow's End

by lavenderwinged



Category: Teen Top (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-07-12 04:43:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7086034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderwinged/pseuds/lavenderwinged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pfft! Who expects love when they get a sugar daddy? Jonghyun didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Luvlyriki [contributed the main plot :)](http://angeliqqi.tumblr.com/post/151518345638/commentary-rainbows-end)

“Strip.”

Jonghyun almost chokes on his ramen. Changhyun seems completely serious. He’s looking at Jonghyun, unblinking.

Poverty must have messed with Changhyun’s head. But a month of ramen for all three meals of the day, Jonghyun’s just about had it. So he stands up and holds the hem of his sweater.

He’s pulling it up to the middle of his bony torso when Changhyun speaks.

“What are you doing?”

“Stripping. Like you said.”

“Idiot. I don’t mean now. I mean, we can strip for money. You know. To pay rent. We’re two months late on rent remember?”

How can he forget? 

Yesterday when he’s on his way up the stairs to his apartment, carrying a carton box of ramen – they have to buy in bulk to save – he was stopped by his landlord Mr. Han for the nth time this month. Gyujin wringed his hands together, like he always did, and said, “You know if you don’t pay then I can’t let you live here anymore.”

Gyujin is really nice, and he likes them and they also like him. But Gyujin can’t let someone live without rent while there are people out there who need this apartment just as much and have money to pay. 

“I understand sir,” Jonghyun said, his heart heavy. He could only nod and look down when Mr. Han said “OK” and gave him two supportive pats on the shoulder in place of goodbye. He knew that Changhyun and he will need to figure out a way soon. He knows.

But strip?

“How do we strip?”

“You take off your clothes. You do that every day before you take a shower and before you change.”

“But we have to take our clothes off in a _different_ way.”

“We’re performance art majors, remember? So don’t worry about not knowing how to strip for money. Also we’re art majors that’s why we’re stripping for money.”

When you say it that way, it’s kind of sad. 

Actually it’s very sad.

“Shit Jonghyun,” Changhyun says, frantically searching around for tissue, but finds none because they’ve run out of those a long time ago.

“Nope thank you I don’t want to strip in front of a lot of people that I don’t know,” Jonghyun says as he stands up. Then he washes his bowl and puts on his coat.

“Another restaurant? We failed at all the restaurants we went to!” Changhyun says.

Jonghyun sighs and continues towards the door. Changhyun calls after him, “Good luck this time anyway!”

***

Changhyun’s parents and his parents did try to “talk some sense into them.”

Changhyun’s parents wanted Changhyun to study pre-law. And Jonghyun’s parents wanted Jonghyun to go into accounting. Their parents would gladly pay all the expenses, even though it’s three times the estimated room and board Changhyun and Jonghyun have to pay if they accept the 100 per cent tuition scholarship for the dance program at the school they’re currently going to.

But Changhyun and Jonghyun insisted. There was no love in law and accounting. Instead, they love the limelight, and they’re confident that they will be able to support themselves, and have money to save even, if they follow their dreams.

It’s been half a year since they left home (likely for good). And look where they are now.

“Jonghyun,” Mr. Go says from behind the counter of the coffee shop, knitting his fingers together and looking really guilty. “We have decided that your skills would better be used somewhere else.”

This is actually the second time that Mr. Go decided so. The first time Mr. Go rejected him was a month ago, but Jonghyun couldn’t give up. Mr. Go’s coffee shop is a few steps away from where he lives. He passes it every day on his way to school. Were he to work here it would be the best he could ever wish for. And he really needs to work. This time around Jonghyun had even added some tears to the application.

“What do you mean I’m not qualified to wait tables?” he blurts out.

That sounded more offensive than it did in his head, but Jonghyun doesn’t care anymore.

Mr. Go is silent and thoughtful. Just then, this kid walks in from the front door.

“Hello Mr. Go. Sorry I’m late. My dog didn’t let me go,” he says with this blinding smile.

“No worries Dongyeol,” Mr. Go says and smiles too.

Jonghyun watches as the smiling kid goes through the staff-only door and comes out wearing the coffee shop’s uniform about five minutes later.

“What kind of work ethic is this?” he asks.

“You see. One of the things that I really want for this establishment is that all our customers feel happy when they are here. Dongyeol has this bright smile that you don’t and his smile gives people hope and yeah, just, just look at him,” Mr. Go says, gesturing towards Dongyeol who’s greeting a customer. It’s communicable. The dumb smile. Now she’s smiling too. 

“So?” Changhyun greets him when he gets home. 

Jonghyun throws himself on his bed and hides his face into his pillow. He wants to cry. 

He hears Changhyun clicking shut his computer and sitting down on his bed and feels Changhyun’s hand patting the back of his head.

“I’ve considered many options.”

“Go on.”

“How about you get a sugar daddy?”

Jonghyun is silent.

“Think about it. You don’t really work. It’s just, you pretend to love someone and get money for it. And if you agree with each other from the beginning that you’re not going to do sex then you won’t do sex.”

It’s part desperation part anger at Mr. Go and that Dongyeol kid. “Sure. How do I start?” he asks.

***

Yoo Changhyun is a man of his words. And a fast learner. Within a week he has started bringing home one and five dollar notes and the occasional tens.

Most highly requested is the wandering vaquero. Because women and men both like the idea of a visitor, who has travelled a lot of land, who tells you stories of things you have never seen before, and who's able to make you feel like you have never felt before. He’s mysterious and there are a lot of things about him that you don’t know. And he’s gonna leave at just the right time so you're never going to be bored.

“This is awesome,” Gyujin says. He looks like he’s about to cry. He counts the money and hugs each of them. Changhyun and Jonghyun can’t help but smile with him. 

“Did you guys find jobs?” Gyujin asks.

“Yeah. Kind of,” Changhyun says, “We have to go now,” then he drags Jonghyun away by the elbow so that Gyujin can’t ask the inevitable question, “What job?”

It’s Saturday morning and they have no activities for the rest of the weekend, well, except Changhyun stripping for the nights. So because Changhyun still has a bit of money left after paying the rent of the last two months, to make up for the ramen, he decides to splurge at Mr. Go’s coffee shop. 

“Hello my name is Dongyeol what can I get you today?” Dongyeol says to a customer at the table right next to theirs. 

Jonghyun hushes to Changhyun, “You see him? If I were in high school my smile would beat his. Dead. But now I have to worry about food and shelter. You can’t expect me to smile like that anymore.”

The customer looks sad. It’s a man in his 30s. Judging by his clothes and the watch on his wrist, he doesn’t look like he has to worry about food and shelter. But Dongyeol’s smile does not have any effect on him. Jonghyun immediately feels sad too. Something really bad must have happened to the guy. Why wouldn’t he smile at Dongyeol? Wait. Is Jonghyun admitting that Dongyeol’s smile has healing quality?

The man suddenly looks up and his eyes meet Jonghyun’s. Jonghyun immediately turns away. 

Opposite of him, Changhyun is focused on the screen of his phone. In the past week, Jonghyun made a profile on the best sugar dating site available according to Changhyun. They hired Bang Minsoo the literature major to write it and Lee Sungjun the photography major to take photos of Jonghyun that show how he’s available for business but also for fun too, (actually what’s the word for hiring but without a promise of payment? Anyway, they had to hire professionals because Changhyun did not want to go wrong for even one step.) Changhyun has assumed the responsibility of Jonghyun’s manager, or pimp, and has been fielding messages of suitors, actually deleting all of them. It made Jonghyun feel like he's sitting on fire.

“Do I have more messages?”

“Yeah. happystitch0605 listed all the things he would do for you in the first message.”

“That’s good isn’t it?”

“No,” Changhyun says with an exasperated sigh. “That’s not a good sign. All these room and board and tuition and transportation are pretty much implied. Real sugar daddies would first get to know you as a person! Because first and foremost it’s a romantic arrangement.”

“Or he’s a nice guy and he’s just desperate!”

“Rich guys have people flocking to them. They’re never desperate!”

“Then why didn’t you like expresso2710? He’s getting to know me as a person!”

“Yeah but he looks photoshopped. Nobody’s that good looking.”

Jonghyun sighs.

“Just. Just let me ok?” Changhyun says, looking stressed out. “I need to make sure that you’re safe because this is my idea after all. What would I say to people if something happens to you? Be patient and we’ll find you a sugar daddy that you deserve.” 

Jonghyun pouts but nods anyway. Changhyun suddenly sits straight up and looks around.

“Hold on, that Dongyeol kid didn’t go to our table. Did you just say he is upsetting you?” he says then stands up. Jonghyun flinches. Dongyeol made Changhyun stand up. Something is about to go down.

Jonghyun’s eyes meet those of the man from the other table again. He chucks it off as accidental and looks out the window. But as soon as Changhyun leaves the table, the man brings his mug over and sits down in Changhyun’s chair.

“I heard you’re looking for a sugar daddy,” he says.

***

Lee Chanhee is wearing a grey tweed blazer, olive pants and – this is something Jonghyun hasn’t seen on anyone except his professors – a sweater vest. He nervously turns his empty mug of coffee in its plate with his thumb and index finger on its handle. Then he takes a deep breath and looks up after a long pause.

“So technically it’s not a normal sugar arrangement of sorts. I’ll pay you. But we’re not in a relationship. We just pretend to be. And only until Sunyoung is so jealous that she comes back to me,” he says.

Jonghyun hasn’t spoken a word. He is scared. But this man looks like a nice person. Based on his clothes. Jonghyun thinks. 

“This is the first time I do something like this. I couldn’t ask a friend because then everyone would know. I need someone nobody knows. I’ve been listening to your conversation with your friend there and I wonder if you would like to help me. I’m sorry if you don’t. I’ll stop asking now if you don’t want to,” he says in one breath. 

He seems really nervous with the slight frown on his face. That makes him believable. Right?

“No,” Jonghyun says. “No no no no no. I just need to think…So I don’t have to have sex?”

Chanhee shakes his head. “No.”

“Well this is too good.”

“You’re doing me great help.”

“I still need to think,” Jonghyun says. He has to talk to his manager. “Can I call you later?” 

“Sure,” Chanhee says. “Like in a day?”

“Yeah,” Jonghyun says.

Changhyun is standing at the corner of the room, pointing towards Chanhee’s back with wide eyes, mouthing, “Who?”. Jonghyun has to focus on the man in front of him.

Done exchanging numbers, Chanhee stands up. “I hope you’ll agree,” he says, then brings his mug back to his table then leaves the shop. He’s one foot out the door when Changhyun lands into his seat opposite of Jonghyun.

“Who’s that?” he asks.

“My sugar daddy,” Jonghyun replies, a bit breathless.

***

“Lee Chanhee. And he said he runs Tails and Whiskers?” Changhyun asks. After failing to track Chanhee from the coffeeshop, they had decided to run home really fast to do a basic background check.

“Yeah that’s what he said,” Jonghyun says.

“What is a rich man like him doing at this cheap coffee shop?”

“His office is right around the corner.”

“True,” Changhyun says with a few slow nods after a quick search on the internet. “But what is he doing in his office on Saturday?” he asks, eyes narrowing.

“Workaholic,” Jonghyun says. Jonghyun doesn’t really know if that’s true. He’s just defending Chanhee’s case for some reason. He finds himself actually on Chanhee’s side of sorts, which is weird.

Changhyun pushes his laptop towards Jonghyun. “This one?”

On the screen is a recent newspaper article praising how Lee Chanhee pulled organic pet food manufacturer Tails and Whiskers out of a slump. It’s an interview. There’s a portrait photo of Chanhee, sitting at his table in his office, in suit and tie with a confident smile. He looks really handsome with brown hair that is orderly but still a bit messy. So young, almost like a boyband member. But if you pay attention really hard then you will see a bit of lines at the corners of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jonghyun says, a bit surprised at seeing Chanhee again, this time in a newspaper article. His sugar daddy is famous.

“Good,” Changhyun says, exhaling loudly. “So he’s actually known, somewhat. I will worry a little less about you being killed and nobody knowing who did it.”

Jonghyun shivers. 

“So what’s the deal?” Changhyun asks.

“He said he just needs someone to pretend to be his date to make his ex-girlfriend jealous,” Jonghyun says.

“You don’t have to have sex?”

“No.”

“Well this is too good.”

“That’s what I said too!”

Changhyun looks thoughtful. “So what do you think?”

Jonghyun is yet to answer when suddenly his phone rings. He holds it up for Changhyun to see the name of the caller. Changhyun widens his eyes. 

“Hello?”

***

Mr. Go glares at him when Jonghyun trades in his coupon. It’s one of the ten coupons that Changhyun managed to get the other day because Dongyeol committed the grave crime of ignoring the two of them. Changhyun was so proud of the fact that Mr. Go had to give him the coupons just so he would shut up and allow everyone to do their job.

Jonghyun sits down at a table. It’s late afternoon on Monday after school and he is waiting for his sugar daddy, wearing his newest-looking hoodie. The man already said just show up as he is but he still wants to impress. 

“Why did you call me here?” he asks when Chanhee appears in front of him.

“I wanted to see you,” Chanhee says, settling down in his chair before leaning back with a smirk. 

That’s creepy. Jonghyun contemplates standing up, turning 180 degree and running away from the coffeeshop.

“I kid!” Chanhee says and laughs, then his face turns serious. “We need to discuss our game plan." 

A source told him that this Friday, Sunyoung, his ex-girlfriend, is going to be having dinner with her new boyfriend at this restaurant. “We’re going to be there too,” Chanhee says. “And I’m going to be the perfect date. And she’s going to rethink her decision. You need to show up and pretend to be happy about being my date.”

That’s not too hard…Oh no there’s a problem though. “What’s the dress code?” Jonghyun asks. He’s worried.

Chanhee laughs dismissively. “Business casual. It’s not a _really_ fancy restaurant. It’s just a normal date restaurant. A bit more expensive than a diner, that’s all.”

Jonghyun sighs. “I…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry this is embarrassing but I don’t have nice clothes to wear," Jonghyun says uneasily. "Can I get paid some in advance? I know it’s bad business because I ask for money before the service is done but –"

“Sure read to me your bank account!” Chanhee says.

***

“Can…can I see it again?” Changhyun asks. He stares at the text in Jonghyun’s phone informing him of the changing balance. He has been staring at it since Jonghyun reached home yesterday evening.

This morning, because they have no school, Changhyun and Jonghyun go to the department store so Jonghyun can have a makeover like in _Pretty Woman_.

“This is where you get nice clothes,” Changhyun says. 

This corner of the department store looks well organised. There are only a few items hanging on the racks and not many shoppers. The employees are dressed smartly too in the store’s own clothes.

Jonghyun has never set foot in here. He only hangs out in other sections where the racks are a bit crowded and where there are way too many shoppers, who put the clothes in all the wrong places after trying them on, and where there are not enough employees to put the clothes back into their proper places.

Changhyun puts on a suit jacket. Dashing. Jonghyun gives him a thumb up in the mirror.

“It’s horrible,” he says with a pout as he looks at himself.

“Why? You look nice.”

“That’s exactly why. People who are not hot never have the same problem as I do. I look good in anything and I can’t buy all of them.”

Changhyun puts the jacket back on the rack. 

They go on to pick out Jonghyun’s clothes. It’s not too hard when you have money. Jonghyun picks up all the things he likes, without having to weigh them against one another, and together they don’t add up to nearly the sum that has just been transferred to his bank account.

“This is like a dream,” Jonghyun says, looking at how the saleswoman is putting his stuff into a nice paper bag with matte finish with the store’s logo engraved in gold on it as they wait at the counter to pay.

“Mm hmm,” answers Changhyun distractedly. Jonghyun turns to his side and sees that he’s looking at the jacket from earlier, which is on a rack near the counter. So Jonghyun gently nudges his shoulder.

“Go on I’ll pay,” Jonghyun says.

Changhyun turns to look at him. “You will?”

“Yeah,” Jonghyun says and smiles. “You have been paying the rent for the past few months.”

He only finishes saying that when Changhyun is already holding the jacket in his hands.

“But the rent alone doesn’t add up to this,” Changhyun says, reading the price tag again and pouting.

“Man. Thank you for supporting me selflessly and lending me money when you don’t know whether I would pay back. Later when you get rich, don’t forget me. And if I get rich, I won’t forget you either,” Jonghyun says, then with his arm pulls Changhyun closer and rests his head against Changhyun’s briefly.

Changhyun looks at him, lets out a sigh and his pout turns into a gentle smile. His voice falters a bit. “Can’t believe we’re having a moment in a department store,” he says.

***

It’s only about ten times as expensive compared to a diner. The light is yellow. The silverware is custom made with the restaurant’s name on it, and the wine glass in front of him is _crystal_.

Jonghyun runs his fingers on the shiny and spotless forks and spoons on the two sides of his plate. There are so many of them. He realizes that he forgot to learn table manners like in _Pretty Woman_.

“Don’t bother,” Chanhee says, as if reading his mind, causing Jonghyun to look up at him. “Like I told you, it’s not too fancy here. Also you’re with me, not someone you have to impress.”

“I don’t have to impress you?” Jonghyun asks.

Chanhee stares at him then laughs good-naturedly. “No,” he says then looks around.

Right. Jonghyun doesn’t need to impress him. They’re not in a relationship or something. They’re pretending to.

“There she is,” says Chanhee, gesturing with his head towards the door then takes a sip from his glass of water. 

A couple have just entered. The waiter greets them and guides them to a table not too close to Chanhee and Jonghyun’s but where they can definitely see them. She is beautiful and has on her face a smile as the man who is with her helps her take off her coat and pulls the chair out for her and gently pushes it in as she sits down. It could be because of her flawless makeup, but this kind of beauty, Jonghyun feels, is not approachable.

Lost in thoughts, Jonghyun doesn’t pay attention. When he notices, the woman is standing next to Chanhee, gently tapping his shoulder with a hand. 

“Hi Chanhee,” she says when Chanhee stands up.

“Oh hi Sunyoung!” Chanhee says, feigning surprise. “You’re here too?”

“Yeah I’m here with Daniel. (The man next to her nods to Chanhee.) How about you?”

“Oh let me introduce you two. This is Jonghyun my date,” he says. “And this is Sunyoung, my friend.”

Jonghyun shakes Sunyoung’s hand. “My pleasure,” she says, which Jonghyun echoes. 

It’s Daniel and Sunyoung’s one year anniversary, Daniel says. They exchange polite pleasantries that make Jonghyun cringe from the superficiality, before Sunyoung says, “Well, we just came to say hi. Enjoy your dinner,” and then Sunyoung and Daniel make their way back to their table.

“Can’t believe it’s been a year,” Chanhee says, looking blankly at his empty plate. 

Jonghyun feels sorry for Chanhee. He really wants to help Chanhee even though he receives a flat rate whether this venture works out or not. 

“And to me it feels like it’s just yesterday when she left me. I thought –“

Jonghyun reaches out from across the table and cups his cheek to bring his face up. “Shh,” Jonghyun says. Sunyoung could be looking. Jonghyun can’t let Chanhee look sullen like this for so long.

“You know what? I’m thinking if we know more about each other we’ll act better. Then we’ll be more likely to succeed in this,” Jonghyun says.

Changhyun is speaking through him.

Chanhee is a bit taken aback. Then he gives a few slow nods, showing agreement with Jonghyun’s genius and then gradually his expression eases into a smile. Jonghyun feels a smile blooming on his face too. Chanhee looks happy and excited now. When they’re closer Jonghyun will definitely tell him to smile more because his smiles are the best.

“So Jonghyun, tell me about yourself,” Chanhee says.

***

Jonghyun, as we all know, is a freshman studying dance. His parents do not like that, so they cut him off. Everybody thinks he made a dumb decision, except this one guy who has been his friend since primary school, and who made the exact same decision, after they, without their parents’ knowledge, joined and won a dance competition in senior year of high school. That guy has also been cut off by his respective parents, and is living with Jonghyun right now, and he’s stripping for money.

But Chanhee is, can Jonghyun say, interesting? Inspiring? Lovely? He calls himself a food connoisseur, eating at fine restaurants and making good food for himself and loved ones when he has time. At the same time, he loves cats and dogs. That is why he created Tails and Whiskers, because he wants pets to be food connoisseurs too.

There was a pause when talking about Jonghyun’s life but Jonghyun did not let Chanhee dwell on that for too long. And then they smiled when Chanhee recalled of that point when Tails and Whiskers broke even for the first time, and smiled a lot when the company broke even for the second time recently, and laughed at the story of how the competitor company tried to fail them by paying a food inspector to start an unexpected inspection. The inspector was making it difficult and it disrupted business, but then as expected found nothing. And Tails and Whiskers gained even more love from customers afterwards.

The highlight of the evening was when Sunyoung and her fish-lipped boyfriend came over to say goodbye because they had run out of conversation between themselves while Jonghyun and Chanhee had not. And Chanhee only stood up to greet them briefly then sat down immediately so he could resume talking to Jonghyun. You should’ve seen the look of confusion, Jonghyun thinks, on Sunyoung’s face when Chanhee broke the conversation with her first instead of letting her do so like at the beginning of the evening.

Chanhee, who has been the perfect date just the way he planned, asked to drive Jonghyun home when the evening ended. But Jonghyun did not want Mr. Han to have any questions, so he didn’t allow it, so they settled with saying goodbye a few blocks away from where Jonghyun lives. 

It’s not too late at night when Chanhee stops his car by the curb and opens the door for Jonghyun to step out.

“I had a lot of fun today,” Chanhee says with a smile. “Thank you.”

“No worries,” Jonghyun says. He had a lot of fun too.

“Your money will be in your account by tomorrow morning,” Chanhee says. Jonghyun for some reason feels a very slight pang in his chest. He only nods.

“Oh I forgot to ask. Was the money I transferred in advance enough for the clothes?”

“Yes,” Jonghyun says, _more than enough actually_. “I also bought some clothes for Changhyun. He’s so happy. It made me cry a little. And we made a promise to never forget each other,” Jonghyun says and unconsciously smiles at the cheesy memory.

“I’m so glad!” Chanhee says. Then he looks like he realizes something.

“I can’t remember the last time I had friends,” he says.

Jonghyun does not yet know what to say when Chanhee speaks again, his eyes lighting up. “Listen. I have an idea,” Chanhee says, “Will you be my friend? I’ll pay you extra.”

(to be continued)


	2. Chapter 2

“No,” Changhyun says, propping his face up with his arms, elbows against the mattress. His eyes are wide open in utter disbelief.

“Yes,” Jonghyun says, hanging up the clothes he took off earlier in his closet. “Even though I feel bad for him, you know? He has to pay for something that many of us get for free.”

Chanhee has friends but they’re not friends in the sense that Changhyun is. They buy Chanhee’s products or sell him ingredients and machinery and he can ask them for favor in business but there’s no coffee date to talk about life or special occasion to celebrate.

“And that’s when you realised how lucky you are?”

“That’s when I realised you should be paying me.”

Changhyun glares at him. Jonghyun laughs and turns off the light. So now the only source of light in the room is his phone.

“So what do you do as a friend?” Changhyun asks.

“Hang out and talk? Well, first off, we are going to the animal rescue center next weekend,” he says and climbs into his bed.

Changhyun sits up.

“Why? Does he want to adopt a dog and need to ask for your opinion?”

“I don’t know,” Jonghyun says and shrugs. “So after I said yes he asked me if I wanted to go to the animal rescue center with him. I love puppies so of course I said yes. If I were not poor I probably would do this for free because he’s pretty likable? I don’t know why he doesn’t have friends.”

His phone buzzes. It’s a text from Chanhee. “Are you home safely?” it reads.

“Yes. :)” is his reply. Chanhee is so thoughtful. Jonghyun lies on his back and holds the phone up.

“Goodnight :)” Chanhee texted back. Jonghyun chuckles. Chanhee is so sweet. He would do this for free.

Outside it’s the sound of some people arguing about something, and some other people watching the TV and commenting very loudly. The wall is so thin. The windows are not soundproof. Jonghyun lies in bed, looking into darkness. He feels like his spirit is soaring out of this place and he replies back with ‘goodnight’ and a smiling emoji too, which matches the smile on his face.

“Yeah I wouldn’t doubt that,” he hears Changhyun say.

***

Jonghyun is in Mr. Go’s coffee shop again, having just traded in his sixth coupons. He has been sitting here since the morning, occupying the biggest table in the corner, with his books and notes scattering in front of him. Mr. Go still hates him, but not too much because the coffee shop is not crowded on a weekday.

Dongyeol on the other hand is super happy to have Jonghyun here to shove his taste of music down Jonghyun’s throat. The youth of today don’t seem to listen to song lyrics, Jonghyun thinks, as the inane incoherent declaration of love blasts through Mr. Go’s pride sound system. Ah fuck why, Jonghyun thinks, as Dongyeol temporarily stops his mopping to pretend the mop is the mic stand and personally sing the chorus himself. 

But there’s literally no space at the library anymore and at home they don’t have proper desks, only tiny wooden tables to put on their beds to conserve space.

His phone buzzes. He picks it up and is mildly disappointed to find that it’s a text from Changhyun. “Where are you?” it reads.

“Mr. Go’s,” he replies.

He has barely resumed his studying again when Changhyun barges in from the door, dragging behind him a smiling guy.

“Jonghyun! Jonghyun! I’d like you to meet a friend of mine,” he says. He hasn’t looked this excited for a long time.

“Kim Jinwook, nice to meet you,” the guy says with a smile. His eyes disappear into crinkles.

“He got us an audition. If they like us we’re going to join their team. And we’re going to become back up dancers. And they got pretty high brow pop stars as their clients,” Changhyun says in one breath.

“Hold on hold on. What?” Jonghyun says. His heart is beating wildly in his chest.

“Well,” Changhyun says, then he pauses and looks at the other guy, “you tell him.”

“So I’m part of Double Jointed,” Jinwook says. “We got a channel where you can watch our videos,” he replies to Jonghyun’s wide eyed look. “And recently we have received many calls from representatives of artists asking whether we could join in MVs and shows so we want to hire more dancers…”

There are so many things to process. Jonghyun is lost for words for a bit before he settles with a question. “How did you guys meet?” he asks.

“At the strip club.”

“Oh so you work with Changhyun?”

“No I’m a customer.”

“Do you go to the strip club often?”

“Yes I do,” Jinwook says, still with the eye smile.

Changhyun speaks again, giddy, “What do you know?” 

“I saw Changhyun dance and I knew that I have to invite this guy over for an audition. And he told me that he has this friend that is even better than he is AND can choreograph!” Jinwook says excitedly. 

“So when do we come over?” Jonghyun asks, shaking a bit.

“Let’s see. Next weekend? Do a cover dance and an original dance. How does that sound?”

“Great!” Jonghyun says. Changhyun nods and nods.

After they shake hands with Jinwook and bid him goodbye, Changhyun pulls Jonghyun’s elbow. “Let’s go to the studio and brainstorm,” he says. Jonghyun immediately starts gathering his stuff.

But on their way out suddenly he remembers the reason he’s studying in the coffeeshop in the first place. His arm slacks in Changhyun’s hold. Changhyun turns back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I have three midterms next week. And I’m going with Chanhee to the rescue center on Sunday,” he says.

Changhyun freezes for a second then he lets out a brief sigh.

“Ok I’ll choreograph,” he says.

***

“I come here every month. It’s the closest to actually having a dog,” Chanhee says as they follow Mr. Lee, the manager, into the facility.

When Chanhee steps in it’s utter commotion. Everyone’s so excited. Chanhee runs to a crate near the corner and opens the door. Out runs this tiny thing with patches of yellowish brown fur on a coat of black. Chanhee sits down and outstretches his arms to greet her.

“When I found Meonji, she was in a carton box on the side of the road. She was the only one survived out of a batch of six siblings. Her mother had been killed by a car. So I buried her mother and her brothers and sisters and brought her here,” Mr. Lee says.

“She bonded extremely well with Chanhee for some reason,” he says and smiles fondly at Meonji climbing on Chanhee’s folded legs and, with her front legs leaning against Chanhee’s chest, reaches up to lick his face.

“How did you learn about the center?” Jonghyun asks, sitting down next to him and petting the back of a clumsy white ball of fluff that has just bumped its head on his knee.

“I never thought of going to one. Because our products are priced higher we targeted people with high income, telling them that their pets deserve food that match their status. 

“But then as I told you the other day, after we tasted success for the first time we decided to increase our capacity. And then there’s not enough demand and we’re having a lot of inventory, and debts to our suppliers and distributors too. 

“That is when I met Byunghun. He was our neighbor when I was a kid. He had just retired and started the center and these buddies are sure able to take care of the inventory!” he says and laughs.

Byunghun smiles and nods. “This one right here,” he says, picking up a white cocker spaniel named Dong, “he was allergic to generic dog food and was really skinny but now he’s a lot healthier.”

“We gave some food to the shelter, and seeing the dogs made me realise why I’m doing this in the first place,” Chanhee says.

“And so we changed our ads to be more centered to the real customers. It used to be this upper middle class or rich person taking care of a dog. But then it became about the dog and not about the owner. The owner comes from all walks of life. It’s not “your choice”, it’s “your pet’s choice.” And giving your pet what he or she wants is the way to show love,” he says.

Spring is in full swing. Light yellow sunlight and caressing breeze sift through lush flowering trees. It’s interesting to see Chanhee in a hoodie and exercise shorts. He looks carefree running on the grass playing fetch with the dogs. Meonji is the tiniest but that does not stop her from running hyperactively and trying to get the ball too.

In the afternoon they bathe the dogs. Dong is very well behaved. If Changhyun doesn’t mind getting himself dirty Jonghyun would definitely recommend this to him. It’s therapeutic, he thinks as he wraps the little white thing in the towel and smiles at big black eyes gazing up at him.

But then Dong’s brother Kan makes him change his mind. Jonghyun moves backward awkwardly, extending his arms and holding Kan out of the water. The pup shakes himself and gets all the soapy water on Jonghyun. 

“Let me,” Chanhee says from his side, laughing and taking Kan from his hands.

“It’s so interesting to see you in anything but a button up shirt,” Jonghyun remarks as they walk to the car after saying goodbye to Byunghun.

Chanhee is surprised for a bit then he laughs. His laugh is clear and musical. 

“There are a lot about me that you don’t know,” he says, then he thinks for a bit. “Do you have a plan for dinner?”

“Not yet.”

“Do you want to go grab dinner together?”

Jonghyun really wants to, but he has to shower. “I have to shower,” he says.

“Yeah right. Me too,” Chanhee says and nods after contemplating a bit.

When Jonghyun gets home Changhyun is sleeping very uncomfortably with his tiny table across his body. On the tiny table is his computer, still on, opening to an essay he’s writing for history class. Next to it a piece of paper with stick figures that he drew, and a lot of choreo notes.

For the past week Changhyun has taken the waiter job at the strip club so he leaves at dinner time rather than 9 pm. So at this time of the day Changhyun would be out of the house already. But maybe he has a day off today. Jonghyun tries not to make a sound. But then Changhyun’s alarm goes off. 

“Shit shit shit,” he says. Then hurriedly he puts on his outdoors clothes, only being able to say, “Sup?” to Jonghyun then briskly walks out the door.

“Did you have dinner yet?” Jonghyun wants to say.

***

Jonghyun doesn’t know where his time has gone. By Saturday night, he still hasn’t learned his part of the cover dance.

Luckily, Changhyun has learned Jonghyun’s part in the dance they have to cover too, so he showed it to Jonghyun move by move. It’s all thanks to him that it only took them a bit more than one hour to perfect it, before moving on to the original dance.

They’re midway through the fourth practice round when Changhyun halts, walks up to his phone and turns the music off. He looks at Jonghyun, serious. 

“So you don’t want to change anything in the choreo?” he asks. 

“No. why?”

“I don’t know Jonghyun,” he says, voice a bit higher than normal with impatience, raising both of his hands. “You haven’t really said anything about…anything… I don’t know if I did too good a job or if–,” he stops to bite his lips and lets out a nervous sigh, “you don’t really want to do this.”

“I do!” Jonghyun says immediately. He hopes the shaking in his voice didn’t betray uncertainty. “Why would you think that?”

Changhyun takes a deep breath. “Let’s take a break,” he says and they sit down on the floor.

“Thank you so much for taking the night off,” Jonghyun says, patting his shoulder.

“I asked Jinwook whether he would pick either of us separately or together. He said he would pick us separately. But he said that he would give us plus points for good team work. Like, we should be able to make it look like it’s actually a duet and not two separate people dancing, you know what I mean? That’s why we need time to practice together. We can only do so much practicing separately,” he says, looking at the floor.

A moment of silence, then he turns towards Jonghyun, resting his cheek on one of his knees. “So how’s it like being friends with Lee Chanhee?” he asks.

“Lucrative,” Jonghyun says immediately then feels kind of bad. “Actually it’s ok I guess. I would say he’s pretty low maintenance as a friend. We met last Sunday to go to the rescue centre and from then on we just didn’t talk at all.”

Changhyun nods.

“He’s really busy. Yesterday he had a company party, because the company turned five years old. And then today I think he has a call with a distributor in another country, because they’re in different time zones. No wait, it’s the opposite, company party today and phone call yesterday –“

Changhyun raises an eyebrow. 

Ok so maybe it’s a lie that they didn’t talk at all since last Sunday. No actually it’s the truth. They only texted. Chanhee sent him funny gifs of cute animals. Jonghyun loves funny gifs of cute animals. There’s this cat that tips his fedora. Haha.

Changhyun looks unimpressed.

“I know what you’re thinking. No I do not have a crush.”

“Oh yeah. What was I doing yesterday?”

“Uhhh...”

“I was at the strip club.”

“That’s a trick question. I thought you’d be somewhere different. Or else you wouldn’t ask.”

Changhyun narrows his eyes.

Jonghyun's phone suddenly buzzes. It’s a text from Chanhee. “Hey you free?” it reads.

Changhyun crawls towards him excitedly. “Ask him what he’s wearing,” Changhyun says, looking at the screen too.

“No,” Jonghyun says. He’s yet to respond when another text arrives. Chanhee is on a pedestrian bridge in a part of the city that Jonghyun is not familiar with. "If you’re free you can go to the bridge and talk to me I would really appreciate it,” his text reads. 

Jonghyun puts his phone down on the floor and stands up. “Let’s continue.” 

“Are you sure?” Changhyun asks, concerned. 

“Yeah.” 

Changhyun turns on the music and they start.

Jonghyun wants to take back the “low-maintenance” remark earlier. All the pedestrian bridges he has seen in this city has tall glass fences on two sides. What if this one doesn’t?

When he realizes the music has stopped again, Changhyun is standing in front of him, phone in hand.

“Go,” Changhyun says.

***

It’s 9 pm. Nobody is on the bridge except Chanhee who is looking down at traffic. There are metal fences so no worries about falling.

“Hey,” Jonghyun says, walking towards him.

“Hi,” Chanhee says and looks up. His eyes are red. He is wearing his suit and tie but the top button of his shirt is off. He holds out the paper bag in his hand towards Jonghyun. “Want some?” he asks. 

“No thank you,” Jonghyun says. 

Chanhee takes a swig and grimaces briefly when the liquid burns his throat. He loses his footing. Gently Jonghyun takes his arms and guides him to sit down.

“I thought you’re at the company party.”

“I was,” Chanhee says. “We have money this year so we have a fancy venue and good food and all these waiters walking around clearing plates and glasses. It’s a total difference from last year.”

Last year they were in their office and had pizza. Last year there were not many of them because people left when the company’s in trouble. This year there are a lot of new faces. Last year nobody was bringing their significant other. This year almost everyone is.

“Everybody dressed well. I made a speech and everyone clapped and we were all happy. But then as everyone was talking and laughing I felt lonely,” Chanhee says.

Jonghyun reaches out to rub his arm.

“It’s not because I’m the only one that doesn’t bring anyone with me, but because she’s not here to see how good it got,” he says. 

Not that she was there last year. Jonghyun tries not to frown too hard when he learns that she left a few months before the last company anniversary. 

At that point, Chanhee tried his best to not dissolve the company because he did not want his employees to lose their jobs. He sold his car and his apartment to pay their salary. Sunyoung did not get that bag she really liked for her birthday. Chanhee could not take her to a vacation either. 

“How long were you together?” Jonghyun asks.

“Two years,” Chanhee says, then briefly smiles. “But actually I knew her way before that. She didn’t know me though. You know Park Chanyeol?”

Jonghyun shakes his head.

“Park Group. They develop houses and resorts all over the world. He is my role model. He went to the same college as I did. He had this scholarship at our school, awarding to kids with excellent social services. I was one of them. One day he came to the school and had dinner with the awardees. That’s the first time I met Sunyoung. She’s Mr. Park’s daughter and she went to my school too, and she’s there to greet the awardees together with her dad.

“I met her again a few months later at a party. I said hi but she didn’t remember me. From then on I made it my life goal to make this woman love me. I don’t know why,” Chanhee says and laughs a short laugh. “I worked really hard and saved up money to have my own business. I was determined to become someone, and then she would recognize me.”

“Finally, three years ago when we were the up and coming company Mr. Park held a party, inviting awardees from all class years to check on how we’re all doing. I went. And she recognized me then. And the rest is history.”

Is it just Jonghyun or is there a pattern here?

Chanhee sighs, then he turns towards Jonghyun.

“You’re probably thinking I’m after her money,” he says. “Actually it’s never that. At first it’s just to boost my ego but then after a while I really loved her…I still do.” 

And when he blinks Jonghyun can see a wet trail on his cheeks.

That is not –

“Come on. Let’s get you home,” Jonghyun says.

***

When Jonghyun gets up in the morning, he remembers Changhyun shaking him awake, saying something about getting to the studio early to warm up, and because Jonghyun could not open his eyes then, he told Changhyun to leave first and he would catch up.

Sitting up in his bed, he looks around. “Changhyun?” he calls. No answer comes. 

His heart stops and cold sweat runs down his back. 

A bus ride that feels like forever later, Jonghyun sets foot in Double Jointed’s dance studio. 

“There you are!” Changhyun says, sighing with relief. He is sitting among a bunch of people, some as young as middle school kids, some as old as about forty, in the hall outside the audition room. At the sight of Jonghyun he stands up and walks over. “Did you warm up?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Jonghyun says.

Just then a woman appears at the door of the practice room. “Choi Jonghyun and Yoo Changhyun?” she calls then nods at Jonghyun and Changhyun, who have just raised their hands. “Please come in.”

His lie comes back to bite him in the butt about half a minute in when his ankle twists with a pop loud enough for him to hear. Biting his lip, he presses on. Luckily, he does not forget the dances, but catching a glimpse here and there of himself in the mirror behind the judges’ back he knows all of the movements involving his hurt foot are not on point.

Which is why he can’t keep his eyes from opening too wide when Jinwook stands up clapping enthusiastically as soon as they finish bowing. Jinwook leaves his judge chair and walks towards them. The other judges are clapping too.

“Wow,” Jinwook says, smiling and nodding. “That was a pretty good original dance. Did this guy come up with it in one week?” he asks, turning towards Jonghyun and patting his shoulder. “And with all the school work and things! I’m impressed.”

Jonghyun raises a finger. “Actually I…”

“We’ll talk later. Now I have to watch the other applicants,” Jinwook says, shaking their hands. “The result would be available in one week. We’ll watch the audition tape and call you ok?”

“You did well!” Changhyun says as they walk out of the room. He pulls Jonghyun’s sleeve. “Let’s go to the coffee shop. We deserve a break.” 

Jonghyun just wants to sit down. His phone rings. “One second,” he tells Changhyun.

“Hello?”

“Hey! How are you?” Chanhee says from the other end of the line. He sounds excited.

“Good. How are you? You don’t sound hungover at all.”

“No. I’m awesome,” Chanhee says, laughing out loud. “Are you free for lunch?”

Jonghyun searches around with his eyes. He didn’t realise when Changhyun left.

***

“This is to make up for last night,” Chanhee says as he greets Jonghyun at the door.

Jonghyun follows him into the apartment. 

“What would you like to drink?”

“Surprise me,” Jonghyun says, to which Chanhee laughs.

Jonghyun did not have the chance to take a good look at the apartment last night. Chanhee fell asleep at some point during their taxi ride home. Jonghyun did not want to wake him, or rather, couldn't, so he had to carry Chanhee from the taxi to the elevator, then from the elevator to his bed. By the time Chanhee was safely tucked in his blanket, it was already late, and Jonghyun was really tired too, so he hurried home to sleep to restore energy for the morning. 

With awe he walks over to the spotless wall length window. It’s the morning. From here you can see the harbor. It would look even more stunning when it’s dark outside. Imagine all the lights! Chanhee must have had the curtains down last night. Or else how could he miss this view? 

“Do you clean all your windows every day?”

“No,” Chanhee says, turning an orange in the juicer. “Mr. Kim comes over every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and cleans the whole apartment."

They sit down for lunch. “Wow I love these,” Jonghyun says at the steaming plates of noodles, each strand covered in buttery cheesy sauce. He accidentally saw these in a cooking video once. He never watches cooking videos on purpose because they make him cry. What are these called? 

“I’m glad you like Italian!” Chanhee says. 

Jonghyun takes a sip from his glass. “Aww. Pineapple with orange!”

“Isn’t it amazing? People rarely drink two juices at the same time. But they should.”

“Can I get more ice?”

“Sure.”

When he comes back to the dinner table, Chanhee is frowning.

“What happened to your foot?”

“I didn’t warm up enough before I dance,” Jonghyun says, looking down and feeling guilty for some reason.

“When?”

“This morning. I had an audition. I didn’t have time to warm up because I overslept and arrived late.”

Chanhee’s frown deepens. 

“Is that because we were out so late last night?” he asks, looking very uneasy. “I’m so sorry. What time did you get back home? I’m sorry. I don’t even remember. I was so selfish.” His voice is higher and he talks without a break when he’s nervous.

Jonghyun tries to wave the matter away.

“No worries. Eat,” he says.

“You know. If you’re my friend you shouldn’t feel forced to do anything for me.”

“OK,” Jonghyun says and nods.

But then every time he looks up from his plate Chanhee is looking at him. 

“Don’t feel bad. I forgave you,” Jonghyun says. “Friends forgive each other quickly.”

Chanhee is silent so Jonghyun changes the subject. “Great apartment you got here,” he says.

“Isn’t it?” Chanhee says, face bright again. “My old apartment was even closer to the harbor, but I had to move.”

The one he moved to was tiny and the view was terrible. You opened the window to a parking lot.

And then Sunyoung barely called him to go somewhere fun together anymore. He didn’t notice the decrease in frequency of contact till one day when she called and said, “We need to talk.”

One minute he’s happy and now he’s sad. The hold Sunyoung has on him is amazing. But then suddenly he looks up.

“Oh by the way we’re going to a party,” he says. “White tie.”

What is white-tie?

***

Jonghyun has daydreamed about it many times, but when it actually happens, he realizes he’s not prepared at all.

He’s walking out the gate of the university when he sees Chanhee and his shiny red convertible on the opposite side of the road. Jonghyun kind of freezes a little bit, before his jaw drops in a mix of surprise and delight.

“Cool so I’ll see you guys at 7,” Changhyun says to Jonghyun, Minsoo and Sungjun, and then his voice diminishes into a slow gasp. “Holy shit.”

Chanhee is leaning against the door. He’s in grey pants and a baby blue button up shirt. His hair is perfect. He has sunglasses on. And that smirk. Chanhee is not tall, but there’s great confidence in the way he carries himself that commands attention. Some students are turning their head to steal glances at him and the convertible when they walk by. They’re probably getting a whiplash at this rate.

Jonghyun resists the urge to skip over and hug his neck. 

(to be continued)


	3. Chapter 3

You should see the look on Sungjun and Minsoo’s faces. Answer: They look pissed. Seeing Chanhee, they thought they did a good job and it seems that Changhyun was totally trying to not pay them. Jonghyun leaves Changhyun to handle them and slips into the passenger seat next to Chanhee.

“Wow. How many cars do you have?” he asks.

“Two now. Last week I had one. But now I have two,” Chanhee says. 

Sunyoung loves this one. So the first thing he does after he has gotten the company out of debt was to get the apartment he’s living in now. The second thing was to buy back the car he had sold. “It’s not the same car. It just looks the same. Anyway I feel great,” Chanhee says.

The tailor’s place is right on the main street. It looks fancy from outside, with old brick façade barely damaged by time and the name on its shop sign written in cursive. Inside it’s even fancier, lit in yellow light with mirrors everywhere. The tailor, Mr. No Sooil, who learned the trade from his father, who learned it from his grandfather, bows to them when they walk in. His assistant, Yein, immediately shuffles over to the sofa set to pour them tea after holding the door open for them.

There are apparently more than one style of tuxedo. Jonghyun has been walking in and out of the curtain. Chanhee, who sits in the sofa reading a magazine, has been shrugging. But Yein still patiently and meticulously fits each tuxedo to Jonghyun with pins.

“Am I taking too long?” Jonghyun asks. “What if more customers come in?”

“No worries,” Yein says. “Mr. Lee booked the whole afternoon. Try on anything you want.”

Jonghyun is about to give up and just pick a random one when he finally finds something.

“How do I look?” Jonghyun asks, turning in front of the mirror. Yein is standing behind, the same courteous smile on his face.

Chanhee stands up from the sofa, delighted. “Stunning,” he says and nods. Then he walks to stand between Jonghyun and the mirror and fixes his bow tie. “There you go.”

“Aww! You two look really cute together. Are you getting married?” says Yein. His eyes are starry.

Jonghyun freezes. Chanhee snickers.

They then take Jonghyun’s measurements and arrange a time for him to pick up his formal clothes.

“Do you have any place to be today? Can I offer you coffee?” Chanhee asks as he turns the ignition key.

“I have to be home at around 7 for Changhyun’s birthday party.”

Chanhee nods. By no time, they’re in front of Mr. Go’s coffee shop.

“Do you know what’s special about today?” Chanhee asks after sending Dongyeol away with their order. “Well, besides that it’s Changhyun’s birthday.”

Jonghyun searches his memory. “No,” he says, frowning.

“It’s our one-month anniversary yay!” Chanhee exclaims, smiling wide and doing jazz hands.

Jonghyun laughs so hard he squeezes his eyes shut.

“Happy one month!” they both cheer, then they clink their hot chocolate mugs together.

“To be honest I am now in much better shape than I was when we first met,” Chanhee says after taking a sip. “Thanks to you. It’s just in time to get freshly excited because we’re preparing for the launch of the soaps.”

“Well I wish you all the luck in the world,” Jonghyun says, fist pumping.

“Yes. Crossing our fingers,” Chanhee says and smiles. 

They are closer now so Jonghyun says, “You should smile more. You have a beautiful smile.”

“Thank you,” Chanhee says and smiles more.

Then he talks about the soaps, the organic cotton sweaters, the natural toys, hands gesturing excitedly and eyes lighting up from the grand visions in his head.

For a brief moment Jonghyun thinks about being there for the launch, and many launches later, the profit, the breakeven and the losses and the bankruptcies if those happen. He would only leave when Chanhee tells him to. 

Chanhee suddenly stops talking to look at his phone and sighs gently. “Come on, let’s get you home,” Chanhee says.

***

The marble tiled hall is tastefully decorated with fresh flowers in vases tied across their middle with ribbons of Park Group’s colour. The ceiling looks like it goes up to infinity. Busy looking up, Jonghyun nearly bumps into a waiter were it not for Chanhee guiding him with a hand around the crook of his arm.

Chanhee says they have to be early in order to greet Mr. Park because Mr. Park is old and goes to bed early. But a lot of people have the same idea. 

By the time they cross the hall to the end of it where Mr. Park is standing, Mr. Park is shaking hands with some old man. Sunyoung is standing next to him in a sparkly gown. Daniel is nowhere to be seen. Seeing Chanhee, Sunyoung waves and smiles brightly. Chanhee only nods back, then changes direction and guides Jonghyun towards the table of food. He’s getting better, Jonghyun thinks, taking note of how Sunyoung’s smile decreases in brightness.

Man, the house party was nice, but this is just, so many types of food, good looking food.

“What’s up?” a voice says next to them. Jonghyun looks to his side to see a woman standing against the table.

“Hey!” Chanhee says, shaking her hand then giving her a friendly hug.

“Yang Jiwon, my friend,” he says. “And here’s Jonghyun, my date.” Jiwon smiles to Jonghyun and shakes his hand. Jonghyun’s certain that she is holding his hand for a bit longer than common courtesy would dictate, only letting go when Chanhee speaks again.

“Jiwon runs the restaurant we went to the other day,” he says. “We really loved the food.”

“Thank you,” Jiwon says, nodding and smiling. “I have a bunch. You guys should check them all out. There have different concepts. Urban, classic, fusion, futuristic etc. Oh Chanhee, did you know, for the futuristic one I was able to procure this chef that won the –“

Jiwon won’t stop talking. Luckily, when Chanhee and Jonghyun have finished half of each plate of hors d’oevres, she spots someone in the crowd and says to them, “I have to go for a bit.”

“Send my regards to your Kalamata olive supplier ok?” Chanhee says. “He’s basically the star of the dinner.”

“Yes I will,” Jiwon says as they part.

“She’s the one that informed me that Sunyoung is gonna be there,” Chanhee tells Jonghyun, popping one more tiny smoked salmon sandwich into his mouth.

“She knows about you and Sunyoung?”

“Nobody knows except Mr. Park. Jiwon just revealed that piece of information while bragging about how her newly opened restaurant has such important customers, including the daughter of Park Chanyeol.”

He takes a glass of champagne from the tray of a waiter passing by and takes a sip.

“I don’t like anyone here. Maybe they enjoy this kind of event but for me it’s really draining.”

“So just don’t go to these events anymore,” Jonghyun says and juts out his lower lip. “You know…”

But Chanhee’s attention has turned somewhere else. 

“Hey,” Sunyoung says with a smile, stopping in front of them.

“Where’s Daniel?” Chanhee asks.

“He’s somewhere. I don’t know,” Sunyoung says, shrugging. She scrunches her nose in an imitation of a smile. “He has to talk to some guy about this project of his.”

“I’ll excuse myself for a minute,” Jonghyun says, receiving a nod from each of them. Then he walks to the bathroom. 

It would be more cringey pleasantries, or really personal things. Either way, Jonghyun is sure he made a good decision to leave them alone. Looking at himself in the fancy mirror in the bathroom that smells like perfume, he faintly feels an inexplicable sense of foreboding pinching his heart.

When he’s out Chanhee is at the end of the room talking with Mr. Park. Sunyoung is with them. Chanhee has just made a really funny joke apparently. Sunyoung is doubling over and holds Chanhee’s elbow with a hand to stabilize herself. Mr. Park then gives Chanhee a pat on his upper arm, then walks to the podium on the stage. 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Mr. Park says into the microphone.

Jonghyun turns his focus to the speech. It could be interesting. 

But someone does not want him to.

“So how did you and Chanhee meet?” Jiwon is standing next to him, drinking from her glass.

“At a coffee shop,” Jonghyun says. She does not look like she is genuinely interested in the answer. But out of politeness he still has to answer her.

“Do you work there?”

“No. Actually I was trying to get a job there but I couldn’t.”

“Don’t. You’re too good for that job,” Jiwon says, touching his bicep and slowly running her perfectly manicured fingers up to his shoulder. “Come work for me. I have many positions for someone like you.”

Jonghyun does not know what to do when luckily, his phone buzzes. It’s a text from Changhyun. There are a lot of emojis. “We got the job at the dance company!!!!!!!”

“Actually I just got a job,” he tells Jiwon, then extricates himself from her hold. 

At the corner of the room, Chanhee is reverently watching Mr. Park’s speech, Sunyoung next to him, smiling her gorgeous generic smile and nodding to her father’s words. Daniel is still nowhere to be seen. 

Jonghyun walks out of the hotel. Outside, car after expensive car stops to discharge well-dressed people. He texts Chanhee, “I have some business so I’m leaving early. Don’t worry about me.”

He still hasn’t gotten a reply when he arrives home. Changhyun giddily jumps out of his bed towards the door to greet him. But Jonghyun can’t brighten up.

“So? How’s the party?”

“Good.”

“Was the food good?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why the long face?”

“I have a crush.”

“Of course you do,” Changhyun snorts, looking pleased with himself.

Then he frowns. “Shit Jonghyun.”

***

Besides a heartbreak, Jonghyun earned enough money to pay room and board for two whole school years and enough formal clothes to wear for a lifetime. Chanhee is always so detailed, labelling each sum of money with time and date and content. There’s “bridge”, there’s “lunch”, there’s “hotel opening,” and there’s also a sum called, “bonus for good results.” To be honest, Jonghyun does not know what formula to use to calculate these numbers, but these amounts do not disappoint him.

“The important thing is, do you have Yang Jiwon’s number?” Changhyun says thoughtfully.

“Well. I currently have no intention - ”

“Who said it’s for you?”

“Oooooooh,” says Sungjun.

Minsoo doubles over and hiccups. It’s never clear whether he’s laughing or crying. 

The buzzer on their table starts buzzing so Jonghyun stands up and walks to the counter to pick up their drinks. Mr. Go does not like the impersonal touch of the buzzer, which is why he was hiring wait staff in addition to baristas, but apparently Dongyeol is not here today so they have to order and pay at the counter first thing then wait to go get their own drinks, instead of having Dongyeol taking their order and then bringing their drinks to their table.

“Where’s Dongyeol?” Jonghyun asks.

“Dongyeol had to take a while off work,” Mr. Go says, sighing. “His mom is sick. The doctors found a lump in her breast. I told him to take as long a break as he wants –“

When Jonghyun gets home, the first thing he does is to call his mom. He should be hesitant. Maybe she’s still mad. They haven’t talked since he put down the enrollment deposit. But he doesn’t care.

“Hello?” mom says from the other end of the line.

It’s such a relief to hear her voice, something he has never felt before. 

“Hi mom! It’s me Jonghyun.”

“I know,” she says. It’s the usual calm tone. She never raised her voice at him, except on that day when he left for college and she said not to come home anymore. Jonghyun feels like crying.

“How are you?”

“I’m good. How have you been?”

“Very good,” he says, then ventures. “I got the job at a dance company and I’m going to travel with them.”

He’s fully prepared to be hung up on. Or to hang up because he will not be able to stand all the nagging that may come. But mom doesn’t say anything.

“You can see me on tour,” he adds.

There’s a very subtle sigh on the other end of the line. Then mom chuckles.

“I’ll pass on that. At my age you don’t want to be in a crowded venue surrounded by screaming young people. But congratulations honey.”

“Thank you mom.”

Mom then complains about dad’s new hobby of collecting old books. “They take up space and are just fire hazard. But he said that one day he’s going to sell them to people with an eye for this kind of stuff, and we’re gonna be rich,” she says. Jonghyun is so happy to hear that his parents are both well.

“Hey Jonghyun,” she says after a beat of silence. “Work hard at what you love. And read a lot and learn a lot of skills ok? We are not gonna be here forever no matter how much we love you. We don’t want you to starve.”

Jonghyun holds back a hiccup. “OK mom.”

“Tell Changhyun to call home. Youngjae and Eunji miss him. But you know how Youngjae is. He doesn’t call first. Neither does Eunji.”

He has just hung up when Changhyun steps out of the shower. 

“Who were you talking to?” Changhyun asks.

***

“Listen,” Changhyun says into his phone after a sigh. He has been on the phone since they got out of the studio, pressing his palm into his face in exasperation. “You tell Kyungsoo that Baekhyun arrived late so many times and Baekhyun got free food for the whole night just like everyone else. So the same must apply to you. Unless there’s material difference.”

For the past two months they practice with the dance company for two evenings per week, and weekend afternoons. There are a lot of routines to learn. Summer is coming. Summer is touring season because it’s when all the school kids have their vacation. The company even lets them take out a part of their pay in advance, so Changhyun doesn’t have to strip anymore. But he still works to keep an eye on Jinseok. Jinseok studies drama and always arrives early, except today, and their boss Kyungsoo is giving him a hard time. “People step all over him,” Changhyun says.

Jonghyun on the other hand, he does not have to worry about too much anymore.

A month ago on top of the building where the studio is located, Jonghyun spotted a new billboard. It’s the familiar bright yellow of Tails and Whiskers, advertising the newest products, organic soaps. It made him dizzy. But he pressed on and Changhyun was the only one in the whole team to know what happened. 

But for the past week he has been able to go past the billboard without feeling dizzy. He practiced with renewed vigour. He laughed at jokes, mainly Changhyun’s. He made some too. 

“Well I’ll see you at home,” Changhyun says, before he rounds the corner to go to the strip club. He brings his phone to his ear again. “You know what? Don’t say anything. I’ll get there in a minute and I’ll do the talking.”

Jonghyun continues on his path. The evening has just begun. He’s going to stop at Mr. Go’s for a sandwich and soup and maybe a drink before going home, like he always does. 

But as he approaches the coffeeshop, he sees a familiar figure walking out the door. The kid is in his street clothes. 

It’s been a long time. Jonghyun runs towards him and holds his skinny shoulders. “How’s your mom doing?” Jonghyun asks, out of breath from running. Then he realises that maybe Dongyeol doesn’t know who he is. 

Luckily, Dongyeol recognizes him after freezing with his eyes wide open for a minute. “Oh hi. She had surgery. And then there’s chemo for a little over a month. And then last week they took a sample and tested it and there’s no cancer anymore,” Dongyeol says, smiling. “So today I dropped by and told Mr. Go that I’m working again.”

Jonghyun wishes he would continue smiling the dumb smile, but his smile is definitely different now. It makes Jonghyun’s heart fall. 

“What’s your favorite drink?”

“Iced frappucino. What for?”

“No whip?”

“Extra whip.”

Jonghyun cringes. But he barges into the shop, orders one and brings it to Dongyeol. 

“It’s so weird what you did,” Changhyun says from the bathroom, chuckling, as he flips open the cap of the toothpaste tube and turns on the water faucet.

“Yeah but I just thought that I really wanted to do something for this kid. And he didn’t mind,” Jonghyun says, sitting down in his bed and arranging his blanket. But maybe if Dongyeol had he would not have shown it. This kid, always smiling, never wanting to upset anyone.

Jonghyun’s phone buzzes with a text. He reads it then stares at his phone, not knowing what to feel.

“Jonghyun?” 

He looks up. Changhyun is standing in front of him. “I was saying –“

Jonghyun holds up the phone for Changhyun to see. 

“'Are you free for coffee tomorrow? I-'” Changhyun reads aloud.

They look at each other for a second, then Changhyun shrugs. “It’s been two months. You forgot him already,” Changhyun says, turning the lights off and slipping into his blanket. “It would be a piece of cake.”

Jonghyun lies down. With that reassurance, he falls asleep.

***

But neither of those is true.

Jonghyun remembers how nervous Chanhee was in the coffeeshop the first time they met, how he smiled at the restaurant when Jonghyun cracked a joke, how happy he looked running in the park playing fetch with the dogs.

He remembers when Chanhee clung to his neck, breath smelling of gin, saying, “thank you” again and again, when he’s lying in his bed and he reached out to hold Jonghyun’s hand when Jonghyun’s turning to leave, saying “thank you” one last time before passing out from exhaustion. 

The school gate. The tailor’s. The coffeeshop again. And at last the hotel lobby when Jonghyun was looking at him from afar as he talked and laughed with Sunyoung. 

It's not good. It's not bad. It's just not enough.

“So how have you been?” Chanhee says, sitting down opposite of Jonghyun after hanging his trench coat on the back of his chair.

“I got a job.”

“Yeah?”

“They’ll give us food and accommodation. We only have to dance. I also get to choreograph. Basically this is my dream!”

“I’m so happy for you,” Chanhee says, smiling good-naturedly. A ray of afternoon sun shines through the window to their side, lighting up his hair into a dozen shades of brown. He’s ever so beautiful.

“How about you?”

“Busy. We set the plan in motion.”

“I saw.”

“And so far reception has been good,” he says.

Then he takes a deep breath. “And Sunyoung and I are getting married.”

“You are?”

Chanhee smiles like a love-struck puppy. Jonghyun feels like there’s a knife stabbing his heart.

“Yeah she’s back. But she asked me to never see you again,” he says and laughs because Sunyoung does not know.

But he does not know.

“Too easy,” Jonghyun says and wills himself to smile. 

“Yeah,” Chanhee says, satisfied smile still on his face. Then he looks up and nods with admiration. “Your acting is awesome. Thank you so much.”

“Yours is awesome too,” Jonghyun says.

“Thanks,” Chanhee says, laughing. “Were it not for you,…”

But Jonghyun does not hear what Chanhee says next because his ears are filled with static noise.

When he gets home, Changhyun puts away his computer and his little table, and opens his arms wide to greet him.

Sunyoung may be good for Chanhee. Jonghyun just does not know her as much as Chanhee does so he can’t conclude. 

But who is he to have an opinion about what’s good for Chanhee? The paid friend?

And for the longest time he wonders who would be Chanhee’s best man in his wedding.

***

If there’s anything that Jonghyun has learned about growing up, it’s that you can never know what is going to happen.

Today, they’re standing on the pavement in front of the little apartment building that has been their home for almost a year past, backpacks and suitcases at their feet, about to board the company bus that parks nearby in order to go on a country wide tour. Mr. Han helped them put their stuff in a storage facility. He said he’s going to keep the room so that it will be available when they get back.

Mr. Han hugs Jonghyun and pats his back, then he hugs Changhyun really long.

“Son. I don’t know who’s going to be a better wandering vaquero than you were when you’re gone,” he says. Changhyun’s eyes are the size of golf balls when he pulls apart.

That and nothing is what it seems like.

OK back to the first lesson. Jonghyun knows he will forget most of this later, so he has stopped crying.

Still, he’s 19 and these feelings are all so new. So he allows himself a little sigh when the bus goes past yet another bright yellow billboard on the expressway. 

The sudden loud cheering in the bus wakes him from his thoughts. “We’re stopping at Jinwook’s grandparents’ on the way and they’re going to cook for all of us!” Changhyun tells him, excited.

As everyone goes on cheering, Jonghyun turns to lean his head against the window of the bus and smiles as unfamiliar landscapes stretch out in front of his eyes.


End file.
